A visionary gift from Pamela Galli AO will sustain and advance research into neurodevelopmental disorders, skin cancer prevention and treatments, as well as enabling new areas of investigation and research collaboration.
The $20 million donation was announced to an audience of researchers and institute partners at the Galli Research Symposium at the University of Melbourne.
The new donation continues the impact of the Pamela and Lorenzo Galli Medical Research Trust established in 2017.
Speaking about her decision to build on her existing donations to the University and its partners, Mrs Galli said: "I believe in supporting the kind of work that brings researchers together to enable medical breakthroughs that save and improve lives worldwide."
This donation will provide continued support to research teams across the Melbourne Biomedical Precinct so they can progress cutting-edge projects in areas such as: the genetic factors that determine neurodevelopmental disorders, future therapeutics for such conditions, and modelling for cancer prevention and treatments.
Previous funding has enabled foundational research and has led to the discovery of five new genes implicated in various rare neurodevelopmental disorders. Identifying these mutations has significant benefits for patients and parents. Other advances include establishing neuronal stem cell models to study potential treatments for intellectual disabilities, and practice-changing clinical trials for melanoma treatment.
Since 2012 Mrs Galli's generosity has established four Chairs across a breadth of disciplines at University of Melbourne partner institutes:
- The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Developmental Medicine, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
- The Lorenzo and Pamela Galli Chair in Medical Biology, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
- The Lorenzo Galli Chair in Melanoma and Skin Cancers, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre,
- The Bob Dickens Chair in Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, The Royal Children's Hospital.
University of Melbourne Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Mark Cassidy commended Mrs Galli's extraordinary commitment to supporting research.
"It's crucial that we strengthen the funding pipeline that enables long-term research, the kind that helps foster and develop careers to make real progress. Pamela's gift allows us to ensure that our research isn't hampered by short-termism but can instead be truly transformative," Professor Cassidy said.
Dean of the University of Melbourne Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor Jane Gunn AO, highlighted the importance of collaboration and how Mrs Galli's gift helps foster it.
"Mrs Galli's gift is transformational as it cements the ties between our world class research institutes, hospital partners and the University. The "Galli Chairs" draw together remarkable research expertise and demonstrate the true meaning of collaboration which is at the heart of our faculty's Advancing Health strategy. I'm humbled and delighted to see the continuation of this great work."
The additional funding is thanks to the legacy of Mrs Galli's husband Lorenzo who passed away in 2004.
After losing her husband, Lorenzo, to skin cancer and blood related cancers and witnessing the specialist care he received, Mrs Galli felt compelled to fund medical research including making improvements to melanoma treatments. She recognised the huge impact skin cancers have on Australians, with at least two in three diagnosed during their lifetime.
Lorenzo Galli arrived in Melbourne from Italy in 1952 at the age of 22 with no English and, in a short time, he set up a construction company that built many of Victoria's main roads and housing and land development in both Melbourne and the Gold Coast. His business grew and was later listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange. His love of the land led him to later establish a large vineyard around Heathcote, which reminded him of the rich, volcanic soil in his hometown in Tuscany.
Underscoring the impact of Mrs Galli's support for melanoma research, the Symposium featured a keynote address by Professor Georgina Long AO, one of Australia's preeminent melanoma experts and joint Australian of the Year.
The generous donation adds to the significant gifts Mrs Galli has previously made to support research at the University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, WEHI, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Children's Hospital.
